Immigration cost us £118billion in just 17 years

IMMIGRANTS from outside Europe have cost the taxpayer £118billion since 1995, according to research published yesterday.

Immigrants from outside Europe have cost the taxpayer £118billion since 1995

The University College London study revealed too that European migrants had made a net contribution of £4.4billion during the same period.

The research also showed that native Britons had cost the country £591billion in the 17 years to 2011.

The net cost of immigrants from outside the EU was higher due to their typically larger families and greater impact on health, education and welfare services.

Concern However, in recent years the figures had greatly improved, said researchers at UCL.

Between 2001 and 2011 European arrivals made a positive fiscal contribution of £20billion and those from outside Europe a positive net payment of £5billion.

Professor Christian Dustmann, director of UCL''s Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (Cream) and co-author of the study, said: "A key concern in the public debate on migration is whether immigrants contribute their fair share to the tax and welfare systems.

He added: "European immigrants, particularly, both from the new accession countries and the rest of the European Union, make the most substantial contributions.

"This is mainly down to their higher average labour market participation and their lower receipt of welfare benefits."

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of pressure group Migration Watch, said the report confirmed that immigration as a whole had cost the country vast sums over the past 17 years.

He added: "As for recent European migrants, even on their own figures, which we dispute, their contribution to the Exchequer amounts to less than £1 per week per head of our population.

"Meanwhile, they have added one million to the number of people on this island.' Last night David Green director of independent think-tank Civitas, accused the authors of making "shallow calculations" to prove their case, while they ignored the social harms caused by mass immigration.